


I'd be inclined to be yours for the taking

by mostlikelydefinentlymad



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: 1940s, Boys Kissing, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, No Angst, Peggy is a good bro, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Secret Relationship, Steve Rogers Feels, Stucky - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 08:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6110605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlikelydefinentlymad/pseuds/mostlikelydefinentlymad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something about the way they seem to be constantly moving that makes Bucky ache for home. For Steve. He turns his head to the side and they stand there just breathing one another in - hot puffs of air against Steve's lips and there is nothing that the world could offer him that would ever compare to this, to Steve.</p><p>(when you say love is a simple chemical reaction<br/>can't say I agree<br/>'cause my chemical, yeah, left me a beautiful disaster<br/>still love's all I see)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd be inclined to be yours for the taking

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [inspired by this beautiful art piece](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/178279) by picapicae. 



> Sometimes Bucky's name on Steve's lips sounds like 'I'm scared I'll lose you again' or 'there is no one else but you for me' or 'I wish things could be different.'
> 
> Tonight though, it means 'Kiss me until I forget all of the things I've done in the name of freedom.'

_'cause there's something here_

_in the way that we're constantly moving_

_reminds you of home_

[[listen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HhcYEuFXXQ)]

Agent Carter flips through a folder, finger skimming the pages and forehead creased in concern. There's a black & white 8x10 portrait of a partially smiling James Barnes in his uniform clipped to the inside of it and she notes that the light in his eyes no longer lives there.

The table between Peggy and Steve is empty aside from the two of them, he'd asked her to find him after lights out because he wanted to talk about Bucky's file and the contents because something was off about him and Steve couldn't figure out why. If he could get his hands on the son-of-a-bitches that hurt Bucky he'd make their demise slow and painful.

"It's incredibly vague but from what I can garner, he _was_ tortured. It appears that it went on for a minimum of two weeks. I'm sorry, Steve," she replies with a sympathetic gaze.

Steve clenches his fists and grits his teeth - "I'd rather not know the details."

He came here for confirmation and he'd got it in the shape of a knot in the pit of his stomach.

"I understand. I can help you with Sgt Barnes if you'd like."

"Help me?"

She straightens the folder and folds her hands over top of it, red nails glistening under florescent lighting - " _Both_ of you. He's your friend and he needs you right now. I can cover for you in at least one meeting and there is a forest beyond the edge of the base. If you keep going it's nothing but trees."

"You'll get in trouble. I can't ask that of you."

"It's my decision, Steve. I'll be fine. I'll tell Phillips that you're experiencing fatigue and if he wants his soldier in top gear then he needs to let you rest."

Steve stares, puzzled - "Why would you put yourself on the line like this?"

Her eyes soften as she reaches out and takes his hand. "Because I know you need this as much as he does."

Steve doesn't bother denying it. Bucky has been out of Hydra's clutches for four days and Steve knows exactly what he needs but with constant paperwork, maps to look over, details to finalize from sunrise to sunset he can't be that for him. Abandoning Bucky in his time of need goes against everything Steve believes in. Loving Bucky is akin to breathing, touching him is instinct.

"2300hrs, Captain. I expect you to follow through, both of you."

With that Peggy pushes her chair back and gives Steve a final glance (sadness in her eyes, this makes Steve feel like a jerk but he she knows him; knows where his priorities lie) before rounding the corner to place the file back in its allocated space.

*****

Bucky shuffles along through the wooded area and nearly trips over large twigs twice, his movement is slower and clumsier since the rescue. Steve notices but says nothing as he takes Bucky's hand in his own and flips it over to intertwine their fingers.

They're not the same Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes who resided in Brooklyn, they're not the same nineteen year olds who shared their first kiss the day after moving into their apartment (it had all started when Steve opened up - the tiniest crack in his shell -)

_"Thanks Buck."_

_Bucky tugs open a moving box and begins to pull out items. "You didn't expect me to let you haul all this stuff up by yourself, did you?"_

_"Not for that."_

_Bucky sits back on his haunches, palms resting against his thighs and gives Steve time to think and elaborate._

_"I had nothing...but you're here. You."_

_Steve is a man of few words especially when it comes to voicing his feelings, this is a big deal and Bucky knows it._

_He stands and pulls Steve to his chest, buries his face in the crook of his shoulder._

_"I'll be right here 'til you find a nice dame and kick me to the curb," he teases. It's lighthearted but the very thought of it keeps him awake at night. There's nothing but raw honesty and pain in his words and, because his face is hidden, Steve cannot see it.  
_

_"A dame who doesn't like you isn't someone I wanna be with."_

_They're a unit, if you love one then automatically you gain them as well as the person who loves **him**. That is to say if Steve could actually convince a woman to go steady with him she'd have to accept him _ and _his sweetheart._

_Bucky turns his head to the side and leaves a wet kiss against Steve's neck, the choked off sound that Steve makes (surprise, pleasure) will forever be etched in Bucky's memory, he's sure of it._

_"Buck?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Did you...?"_

_Bucky hadn't meant to actually go through with it but he had and he couldn't undo it._

_"I'm sorry Stevie, I really am. I haven't slept good in the past few days and I guess it's catchi-," he begins, stepping away from Steve as if Steve is a raging fire and Bucky is made up of newspaper._

_Dangerous._

_Steve stares at Bucky for a moment, confusion clouding his features before finally reaching a decision. His lips land on Bucky's and the angle is all wrong; he's not sure what to do with his hands and the fact that Bucky isn't kissing back makes him feel sick._

_It's not ideal._

_He pulls away, ready to put space between them when Bucky grabs his wrist and tugs him back. "Do that again."_

_It's one of Steve's fantasies came to life - Bucky actually wanting his messy awkward kisses and bony elbows. It's nearly too much to take._

_10...9....in...out...8...7...6...5...in...out...4...3...2...1, Steve counts deep breaths in his head and makes an attempt at calm and fails because Bucky is right there and his lips are parted -_

_He kisses with more finesse this time, one hand coming to rest at the small of Bucky's back in order to get press him closer and the other awkwardly stuffed into his pocket because the urge to give it free roam of Bucky's body is overwhelming and he doesn't want to ruin the moment by slipping his hands under the back of Bucky's shirt and scratching with dull nails if he's not ready._

_Bucky smiles against his lips and it's everything Steve thought he'd never have. Bucky is the catalyst of the blood in his veins (a chemical reaction, a spark), he is the crescendo of love that spreads throughout Steve's body, infiltrates his brain until all he dreams of is Bucky, Bucky, Bucky._

"This should be far enough out," Steve states as he pauses in the middle of the forest and stares up at the trees - they're hundreds of years old and if he lives to be that age he hopes he'll age as gracefully as them.

Bucky scopes out the area, checks every wide clearing and glances up to ensure that there are no snipers seeking refuge in the strong limbs. It's devoid of people and at last they can finally stop hiding the something between them, can safely touch and taste.

"All clear?," Steve asks. His body is tingling with anticipation; its been far too long since he has had the chance to kiss those pretty cupid's bow lips unless the lighting fast instinctual  _I thought you were dead, please don't die_ kiss as Hydra's facility tumbled down around them counted. He'd thought about that moment more than he should even as Bucky slept across from him, cot an arms length away. 

Bucky nods and stares down at his boots, scuffed material against damaged leaves that had been resting there since Autumn.

 _They're dying_ , he thinks to himself, _yet we continue to step on them; to snuff out any trace of life. We can't even begin to grasp just how fragile life is until it's right under our noses and we're drowning in it as we try to breathe._

Bucky is trying to appreciate life more and the fact that he'd been sent straight to hell and had survived but it's difficult when he can't sleep well and his body is aching, when it feels like there's a boot stepping on his windpipe on the bad days. He could really use Steve's support then but Steve is always busy. 

The leaves crunch under Steve's boots as he edges into Bucky's personal space. They are both alive and have survived carnage and the gnarled ugly side of war, have survived on gentle caresses after their fellow bunkmate began snoring (kisses to the palm of Steve's hands [because he holds the entire world in a thin pale hand; _Bucky's_ world], fingers seeking purchase in anything they can grab, a stolen kiss whenever possible) - they've made it this far and Steve has never been more grateful for Peggy's existence than he is right now. She is the reason that they can steal away without others coming to search for them. 

"Buck."

Sometimes Bucky's name on Steve's lips sounds like _I'm scared I'll lose you again_ or _there is no one else but you for me_ or _I wish things could be different._

Tonight though, it means _Kiss me until I forget all of the things I've done in the name of freedom._

Steve pushes him up against the tree - thick bark pokes at Bucky's back through the material of his coat but he could stand here all day and marvel at Steve's natural ability to lead, could drink in those blue eyes until he got his fill.

"I missed you," Steve says, voice dropping in a barely audible tone.

"Missed you too, pal," Bucky replies.

 _Missed you like oxygen in my lungs_ , he thinks to himself, _you're the physical manifestation of my heart walking around in a Captain's uniform and blonde locks tamed_ _with pomade_ (Bucky's pomade, it's things like this that Bucky notices, it gives him a warm feeling).

Steve bends and slots his lips against Bucky's - it's slow and wet; just the way that Bucky likes it. It's a silent _I love you more_ and Bucky can't seem to get close enough. He grips Steve's upper arm and drapes the other around Steve's neck.

The sturdy tree provides leverage and is wide enough to work as a cover if need be. Steve silently sends a thanks to the heavens for creating natural barriers; if anyone even suspected...well he wouldn't be happy with the fallout.

Steve's leather jacket is ripped at the back to expose the blue of his shirt - it's the same coat that he' worn when he'd found an unresponsive Bucky on Zola's table. Somehow it seems fitting that he's wearing it while holding Bucky in his arms. It's a testament to the lengths he'd go to just to rescue Bucky.

Bucky clutches at him as if he might disappear in plain sight, as if the war might claim another victim if he lets go. Its always been this way - in Brooklyn they'd held one another without saying a word for five whole minutes; the simple act of existing together was an intimacy in itself. Bucky is forever aching for those days, those moments - the privacy of their apartment but they're long gone now.

This is a brand new chapter in their story and he feels like they'll be okay as long as they have one another. 

There's something about the way they seem to be constantly moving that makes Bucky ache for home. For Steve. He turns his head to the side and they stand there breathing one another in - breath coming out in hot puffs of air against Steve's lips and there is nothing that the world could offer him that would _ever_ compare to this, to Steve.

He nudges his nose against Steve's which causes Steve to grin widely and return the affection. Bucky is a die-hard romantic at heart though he'd never admit it out loud. He enjoys the moments in between - when chests brush, when breath mingles, when Steve closes his eyes; long eyelashes against pale skin - closed against the intensity of this love that seems to encompass everything. It's the heartbeats in between. 

If he'd been given the chance he would've written Steve the most poetic letters he'd ever read after shipping out but there was never time for that. Skin, however, makes an excellent mural and beautiful silent poetry so he paints with his tongue - takes long sweeping strips against Steve's neck and sucks purple bruises on his collarbone where it won't be seen.

Two hours - that's how much time Peggy had managed to buy them (Bucky would be sure to thank her for this unexpected gift) so they filled seconds and minutes with heated kisses and arms folded around one another.

*****

"Captain Rogers, Sgt Barnes," Peggy says as she shifts a pile of paperwork in her arms and smiles sweetly.

"Ma'am," Bucky replies.

They may not get along very well but Agent Carter is one hell of a woman - she's stunning and intelligent, has a big heart and is more like Bucky than Bucky had realized. Sure she'd had her jealous moments but then again so had Bucky when he'd assumed she and Steve were an item. The fact remains that she'd help save his life and had given Steve to him not once but twice even though she loved him.

"Agent Carter," Steve greets.

"I trust that the two of you have found the alternate route to Zola's factory and have marked it on a map."

Bucky, now feeling slightly better than he had before, gives her his most charming smile and rocks back on his heels - "We'll have it on your desk first thing tomorrow morning."

She's providing them with a rock solid alibi, speaking in between the lines.

"You're dismissed," she replies with a wave of her hand in their direction and a warm smile as she starts to walk away. 

"Peggy, wait," Steve begins.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to thank you. I needed that...I mean _he_ needed that," he whispers where prying ears won't overhear.

"You owe me a dance for this," she counters.

She knows and accepts the kind of love that Steve and Bucky have for one another, that trust and love serves as the adhesive that binds them. It's not something she could ever dream of competing with and for that matter it wouldn't be fair. Bucky was there first.

Bucky smirks and Steve looks like a man in love; all doe eyed as he turns to look at him.

"Better wear boots," Bucky warns - tone lighthearted and missing the pang of jealousy that had clawed at him upon finding out about Peggy.

Peggy's eyes dart back to Steve's from where they'd been trained on the two of them together - "0000 hours (midnight) at the Stork club, don't be late."

"We won't," Steve confirms.

She doesn't miss the _we_ in that statement but it's just as well. Bucky is a part of Steve; a living and breathing extension and she'd never come between them. She'd stepped back after she'd witnessed how much Steve loved his best friend; enough to freefall into enemy territory, enough to steal a U.S. government issued military vehicle. She loves him all the same for it and if Bucky makes Steve happy then she'll make it her mission to keep it that way.

"Gentlemen," she says, dismissing them before walking away with heels clicking against tiled floors.

"She sure is something," Bucky remarks.

"Yeah, she really is. She reminds me of you."

"Sorry to break it to you, pal, but I can't pull off red lipstick like she can," Bucky teases.

"You know what I mean, jerk."

"How 'bout we get out of here before someone sees you and I'll show you how to dance without stepping all over her," Bucky suggests.

"I _can_ dance," Steve insists but falls as he falls into line beside of Bucky and they make their way out of the facility.

"No you can't, don't insult dancing like that."

Steve elbows him in the rib over the lighthearted jab. "Guess you'll have to show me over and over 'til I get it."

"Mmmhmm," Bucky confirms.

"Might take awhile," Steve continues.

"I've always got time for you," Bucky replies; voice dropping to a near whisper as they walk past rows of tents.

Steve throws an arm over his shoulders and to an innocent onlooker it'd appear that they're simply best friends who are very touchy-feely rather than something deeper than that, something that only comes once in a lifetime.

When they reach the tent and close the flap the idea of dancing suddenly dulls in comparison to lips kissing every inch of skin that they could reach and loving like it was their last day together.

Tomorrow they'll dance, they'll dream, they'll wish on all of the stars but tonight...tonight they'll take advantage of the fact that their bunkmate has been sent to the front and finish what they'd started in the forest.


End file.
